Car-coupling



W. J.`TREVESSICK.

CAR CUUPLING.

(Application meu Feb. 18, i897.)

(No Model.)

Wihgasses llo WILLIAM J. TREVESSICK, OF GLEN CAMPBELL, PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 610,666, datedSeptember 13, 18.98. Application filed February 18, 1897. Serial No.624,014. (No model.)

T0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. TREVES- SICK, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Glen Campbell, in the county of Indiana and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Car-Coupling, of'which thefollowing is a specification.

The invention relates to improvements in car-couplings.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction ofcarcouplings and to provide a simple, inexpensive, and efficient devicedesigned for coupling mine-cars and adapted to afford a yielding orelastic connection to cushion the cars in starting, and thereby avoidthe shocksand jars incident to starting mine-cars with a chain-like orsimilar coupling, and thereby avoid the wear and tear on cars and theroad-bed and also on Vmules or a locomotive employed in drawing thecars.

A further object of the invention is to cushion the cars, and therebyprevent portions of their contents from falling upon the track, and toprevent the loss of coal or other mineral mined and avoid the expenseincident to cleaning the track of such fallen material.

Theminvention consists in the construction and novel combination andarrangement of parts, as hereinafter described, illustrated in thedrawings, and pointed out in the claim hereto appended.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of acar-coupling constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is alongitudinal sectional view. Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view.

Like numerals of reference designate cor: responding parts in theseveral figures of the drawings.

l designates a cylindrical casing forming a housing for a pair of coiledsprings 2 and connected with snap-hooks by longitudinal rods 4, on whichthe coiled springs are disposed, as clearly illustrated in Fig. 2 of theaccompanying drawings. The ends of the cylindrical casing are interiorlythreaded and receive eXteriorly-threaded plugs 5, which are providedwith central perforations :for the reception of the rods 4. The plugs,which form bearings for the outer ends of the springs, are readilyremovable to afford access to the interior of the tubular casing toenable the parts to be readily assembled and removed when desired. Theinner ends of the springs are engaged by disks 6, which are secured tothe inner ends of the longitudinal rods and form heads for the same.vThe disks are perforated for the reception of the rods,which have theirinner ends threaded and provided with nuts adapted to be readilyadjusted to regulate the tension of the springs. The outer or engagingfaces of the disks are iiat, and their inner faces are rounded, asshown. The outer terminals of the longitudinal rods are provided witheyes and are connected with eyes 8 of the snaphooks 3 by means of rings9, which are linked into both of said eyes. The snap-hooks 3 areprovided with suitable springs or tongues lO, which close their mouthsand prevent the snap-hooks from becoming accidentally uncoupled. Therings and the eyes of the rods and the snap-hooks render the couplingsufficiently iexible to permit cars to come together, and the devicewhich yieldingly connects two cars is always taut when-the cars arestanding still, so that there is no jar or jerk in starting the cars,thereby saving much wear and tear on. the cars and on the motive powerand enabling mules ora locomotive to pull cars with greater facilitythan when the same are coupled with the ordinary chain-like coupling.The lateral flexibility afforded by the rings 9 provides for theaccurate adjustment of the hooks and casing in the line of draft orstrain, and hence avoids the jamming of the stems 4 in the guideopeningsprovided in the heads or plugs 5, and this transverse flexibilityattains the further advantage of allowing the parts of the coupling tobe alined with the strain or draft without affecting the engagement ofthe hooks 3 with the cars. Also when the coupling has been at rest, thecar or cars being stationary, the sudden application of strain, as instarting the car, will not cause any transverse strain on the stems 4:,even should the terminal hooks 3, by reason of rust or other cause, hangor refuse to adj ust themselves in line with the draft. v The flexibleconnection between the hooks and the stems afforded by the rings 9 willaccomplish the function of releasing the stems of lateral strain.Furthermore, the casing is prefer- IOO ably terminally rounded, theplugs being inserted in the rounded extremities and having their outersurfaces rounded to conform to the ends of the casing proper, wherebythe ends of the casing are adapted to slide readily from an object withwhich they come in contact, as when connected cars are descending agrade, to allow the proper points, as bumpers, of the cars to come incontact instead of subjecting the coupling to this compressive strain.Furthermore, the rounding of the eX- tremities of the casing providesfor greater freedom of movement of the rings 9. It will also be seenthat as the cars are cushioned in starting them the material mined isnot thrown along the track, as is the case when the cars are startedwith a sudden jerk, and the expense incident to cleaning the track ofsuch foreign material is obviated.

What I claim is- The herein-described car-couplin g comprising anelongated terminally-rounded casing, revoluble and reciprocable rodsprojecting in opposite directions through terminal guides' in therounded extremities of the casing, and tted within the casing withactuating-sprin gs whereby they are normally held retracted, hookscarried by the rods for engagement withcars, and provided with means forpreventing the accidental disengagement thereof, and pivotal ringsconnecting the Shanks of the hooks with the outer extremities of therods, and capable of swinging movement, to provide for tran sverseflexibility between said connected parts, whereby when connected carscome together 4the casing drops out of the path of the approachingbodies, substantially as specied.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aiiiXe-dmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM J. TREVESSICK.

Vitnesses:

IRvIN GARDNER, JOSEPH FRANCE.

